A History of Batesville
Bischoff Reservoir
Elevation - 957.43 Feet Above Sea Level
Brief History
Constructed in 1960 on Bob's Creek, the city owned lake provides about 1200 acre feet of water to serve Batesville's need. Since this is about 79% of the lakes capacity, managing for fishing is difficult. Workers drained the lake in 1966 to improve the quality of the water and remove undesirable fish. A fish survey at the time of draining revealed that the lake held about 300 pounds of fish per acre. The city restocked the lake after it refilled with large mouth bass, red ear sunfish, channel catfish, and white catfish.
Location
Bounded by Indiana State Road 46 on the north, Indiana State Road 129 on the west, County Road 1300 N to the south and County Road 450 E, the 200 acre lake serves as a major water supply for the City of Batesville. The thirty-eight foot tall, 640 foot long earthen dam may be seen from County Road 1400 N, accessed from Indiana State Road 129. Residential housing developments, forest and agricultural lands surround the lake. Bischoff's has an average depth of 8.1 feet, with the deepest point about 27 feet. Bischoff's has a watershed of about five square miles.
Water Capacity and Lake Access
With a capacity of 624 million gallons and 1920 acre feet capacity, the lake also affords area anglers with ample catches of channel catfish, large mouth bass, smallmouth bass and white crappie. Anglers will find a concrete ramp public access site on County Road 1400 N, accessed from Church Street in nearby Morris, Indiana east of Batesville on Indiana State Road 46. Boats with gasoline motors of up to six horsepower and electric trolling motors are permitted to use the lake. Anglers must possess an Indiana Fishing License. Bischoff's is also locally known as the Morris Reservoir or the Batesville Reservoir.
